photo

        Mulong Luo

          Assistant Professor
          Florida State University
          mluo AT fsu DOT edu

          Vita, Google Scholar, LinkedIn, Twitter

 

I am an incoming assistant professor at the Department of Computer Science at Florida State University starting fall 2025. My current research interests are the following:

  • Using AI agents (e.g., reinforcement learning) for exploring the trustworthiness of computer systems;
  • Trustworthiness of AI systems (LLMs, autonomous vehicles 1, 2, 3, and neural networks 4, 5, 6 ).

I aim to build future trustworthy (AI-oriented) computer systems with the help of AI.

I am actively looking for Ph.D. students to work on computer architecture, computer security and artificial intelligence research, with an anticipated starting date of spring 2026 or fall 2026. Please drop me an email with your CV at mluo@fsu.edu.

News

Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Computer Engineering, Cornell University, 2017-2023.

  • Master of Science, Computer Science, University of California San Diego, 2017.

  • Bachelor of Science, Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Peking University, 2014.

Selected Publications

  • A. Cathis, M. Luo, M. Tiwari, A. Gerstlauer, “Lifecycle-Aware Power-Based Malware Detection”, accepted to HOST, 2025. [pdf]

  • S. Banerjee *, P. Sahu *, M. Luo, A. Valhdiek-Oberwager, N. J. Yadwadkar, M. Tiwari. “SoK: Attack and Defense on Compound AI”, in submission. (* Equal contribution.) preprint.

  • A. RoyChowdhury*, M. Luo, et. al., “Confused Deputy Risks in RAG-based LLMs”, [pdf],[website].Security Magazine, Data Breach Today, CYBR Monk, Secure World.(* Undergrad student advised.)

  • M. Luo, M. Tiwari. “Towards Reinforcement Learning for Eviction-Set Finding for Randomized Caches”,SRC TECHCON, 2024.

  • J. Cui, X. Yang*, M. Luo*, G. Lee*, et. al., “MACTA: A Multi-agent Reinforcement Learning Approach for Cache Timing Attacks and Detection”, accepted to International Conference on Learning Representation (ICLR), 2023. [pdf] (* Equal contributions.),[code]

  • M. Luo*, W. Xiong*, et. al., “AutoCAT: Reinforcement Learning for Automated Exploration of Cache Timing-Channel Attacks”, accepted to IEEE International Symposium on High Performance Computer Architecture (HPCA), 2023. [pdf][code](* Equal contributions.)(Artifact Evaluated, Functional and Result Reproduced).

  • M. Luo, G. E. Suh, “Accelerating Path Planning for Autonomous Driving with Hardware-assisted Memorization”, in International conference on Application-specific Systems, Architectures and Processors (ASAP), 2022. [pdf]

  • M. Luo, G. E. Suh, “Interrupt Attack on TEE for Robotic Vehicles”, in Automobile and Autonomous Vehicle Security Workshop (AutoSec), 2022, collocated with Networked and Distributed System Symposium (NDSS). [pdf],[talk]

  • M. Luo, A. C. Myers, G. E. Suh, “Stealthy Tracking of Autonomous Vehicles with Cache Side Channels”, in 29th USENIX Security Symposium, 2020, pp.859-876 [pdf] [slides][talk] (Shortlisted for Top Picks in Hardware and Embedded Security 2022.)

  • J. H. Lin, X. Jiao, M. Luo, “Vulnerability of hardware neural networks to dynamic operation point variations”, in IEEE Design and Test, 2020. [pdf]

  • J. Liu, J. C. Davies, A. Ferraiuolo, A. Ivanov, M. Luo, et al., “Secure Autonomous Cyber-Physical Systems Through Verifiable Information Flow Control”, in Workshop on Cyber-Physical Systems Security and PrivaCy (CPS-SPC), collocated with ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS), 2018, pages 48-59 (Best Paper Award). [pdf]

  • X. Jiao, M. Luo, J. H. Lin, R. K. Gupta, “An Assessment of Vulnerability of Hardware Neural Networks to Dynamic Voltage and Temperatrue Variations”, in Internaional Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD), 2017, 940-950. [pdf]

Tutorials

Invited Talks

Services

  • Selected Technical Program Committees:
    • Proposal Reviewer, NSF Security and Trustworthy CyberSpace (SaTC) 2.0 Program.
    • TPC, ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Microarchitecture (MICRO), 2025.
    • TPC, ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS), 2023, 2025
    • TPC, IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, 2025.
    • TPC, USENIX Security Symposium, 2024.
    • ERC, International Symposium on Computer Architecture (ISCA), 2024.
    • lightPC, International Symposium on High-Performance Computer Architecture (HPCA), 2024.
    • TPC, International Symposium on Research in Attacks, Intrusions and Defenses (RAID), 2023, noteworthy reviewers.
    • TPC, USENIX Symposium on Vehicle Security and Privacy (VehicleSec), co-located with Symposium on Networked and Distributed System Security (NDSS), 2023, 2024, outstanding reviewer, [2025].
  • Organization:

Teaching

I have been serving as a teaching assistant for multiple undergradudate and graduate-level courses at Cornell and UCSD.

  • Head TA, ECE2300, Digital Logic and Computer Organization, 2020 Fall at Cornell by Prof. David Albonesi

  • TA, ECE5770, Resilient Computer Systems, 2019, 2018 Fall at Cornell by Prof. Edward Suh

  • Head TA, CSL140, Components and Design Techniques for Digital Systems, 2017 Spring at UCSD by Prof. C.K. Cheng

  • Head TA, CSL140L, Digital Circuits Laboratory, 2017 Winter at UCSD by Prof. Rajesh Gupta and visiting Prof. Avind from MIT

Academic lineage

Industry

  • System on Chip (SoC) platform architecture intern, Qualcomm Inc., 2021.

  • Software Reseach and Development Intern, Synopsys Inc., 2016.